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Camping is always a lot of fun, especially when there are special camping recipes involved! A pie iron is a versatile tool that you can use over a campfire to make delicious dishes like pie iron breakfast sandwiches, desserts, casseroles, and the following tasty pie iron breakfast bake. You only need a few ingredients to make it and it’s the perfect camping food, so if the idea of cooking over an open fire appeals to you, bring the ingredients with you and enjoy some campfire cooking!
Eggs, bacon, cheese, and hash browns are cooked over an open fire to make a delicious breakfast which you can serve between two slices of bread or in tortillas.
More cooked breakfast ideas include easy sheet pan eggs, shrimp and spinach omelet, lumberjack foil packs, and crockpot carrot cake oatmeal.
Why You’ll Love This
Easy: Cooking with a pie iron is so simple because you simply put the ingredients in there and place it over the campfire or charcoal grill, rotating it when necessary.
Delicious: Rise and shine to this flavor-packed breakfast and you’ll want to make it all the time! When you start the day with a hot, filling breakfast, you have lots of energy for the day ahead.
Customizable: You can mix and match the ingredients, omitting whatever you don’t like, increasing the amount of what you do, and adding other breakfast items to make it truly your own breakfast creation!
Pie Iron Breakfast Bake Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below
Eggs: It doesn’t matter what size eggs you use, although if they’re small you might want to use 3 per person rather than 2.
Bacon: Bacon won’t crisp up when combined with the other ingredients, so precook it. You can also buy cooked bacon.
Cheddar: Shredded cheddar works well in mountain pies but so do other kinds of cheese, so use whichever kind of cheese you prefer.
Hash browns: Thaw out frozen hash browns to use. You could use tater tots or similar instead.
Nonstick cooking spray: You don’t want your hobo pies sticking to the pie irons, so don’t forget this! You can use butter or oil as an alternative.
How to Make a Campfire Pie Iron Breakfast
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card
Prepare the campfire: Prepare a campfire or a charcoal grill and heat your pie iron or pie irons over the fire or coals.
Combine the ingredients: Beat the eggs and then mix in the bacon, cheese, hash browns, and some salt and black pepper to taste.
Grease the pie iron: Spray nonstick cooking spray inside the pie iron.
Cook the breakfast bake: Add half the egg mixture to the pie iron, close it and cook for 2 to 3 minutes with the pie iron directly over the heat, rotating often.
Serve and enjoy: Take the pie iron off the fire when the eggs are set and serve hot. Repeat with the other half of the egg mixture to make the second pie iron breakfast bake. This will be one of your favorite pie iron breakfast recipes!
Substitutions and Variations
Other ingredients: Feel free to add whatever you like in your usual scrambled eggs or omelet. Just a few examples of other tasty ingredients to add to your pie filling include sliced mushrooms, chopped fresh tomatoes, fresh herbs, green onions, and any spices you like.
Tex-Mexify it! This recipe is a great starting point for breakfast burritos. Swap the bacon for cooked chorizo and the cheddar for Mexican blend or Monterey Jack cheese. Add chopped avocado, minced or sliced jalapeno, garlic, a pinch of cumin, and chopped onion. A dash of hot sauce and lime juice and some cilantro and you have all the makings of a breakfast burrito, which you can serve in a tortilla!
Make it for dinner: You can either enjoy this for brinner (breakfast for dinner) or substitute some of the ingredients to make it more dinner fare than a breakfast feast. Swap the bacon for steak, add some peppers or veggies you like, and serve with your preferred sauce on the side.
Serving Suggestions
Drinks: Cinnamon dolce latte can be prepared ahead and warmed over the campfire, or you could make peach black tea lemonade and enjoy a cool sip with your pie iron breakfast.
Side dishes: A breakfast banana split is another easy camping recipe to try for breakfast.
Snacks: Still hungry? You can munch on no bake granola bars or fruit muffins which of course you were organized enough to make ahead!
How to Store Breakfast Pudgy Pie
Store: Leftovers should be kept in an airtight container and eaten within 2 days.
Freeze: This isn’t something that freezes well.
Reheat: Reheat it over the campfire in the pie iron, or microwave if you’re at home (or have a fancy RV!)
Top Tips
Mix and match: This recipe is a starting point for whatever mountain pies (that’s pie iron lingo!) you want to make. So, add veggies, herbs, spices, or any other breakfast favorites to make this your own.
Don’t overcook: Eggs aren’t great when they’re overcooked and they can cook pretty quickly depending on the heat of your campfire, so check inside the pie iron after a few minutes and see how they’re doing.
Take care when cooking: Campfires can get extremely hot, so be careful when making a campfire and when cooking over one. Wear protection when opening the pie iron because that can get incredibly hot.
Pie Iron Breakfast Bake FAQs
Yes, of course, just omit the bacon and instead use sliced mushrooms or your favorite veggies, or some tofu or whatever you like.
Pie irons come in different sizes, just like pots and pans. The choice is yours as to whether you make two servings in a large pie iron or make them individually in a regular-sized pie iron. You can also use a pair of pie irons at the same time! This recipe can be doubled if you’re using large pie irons or you’re extra-hungry!
You can make this tasty pie iron brunch or breakfast meal exactly as you wish, so feel free to add minced or sliced jalapenos, chili powder, cayenne pepper, or a splash of hot sauce.
Breakfast Mountain Pie
Pie Iron Breakfast Bake
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 4 Slices bacon, cooked
- 4 Ounces cheddar cheese, grated
- 3 Cups hash browns, thawed
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Nonstick cooking spray, as needed
Instructions
- Prepare a campfire or charcoal grill for cooking. Heat a pie iron over an open fire or hot coals.
- Beat the eggs in a bowl and stir in the bacon, cheese and hash browns. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Remove the preheated pie iron from the fire and grease with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add half the egg mixture to the pie iron then close it and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, turning and rotating every few seconds. Watch carefully as the cooking time can vary depending on the temperature of the fire and where it is placed.
- Remove the iron from the fire and transfer the breakfast bake to a plate. Repeat with the remaining egg mixture and serve hot between bread slices, in a tortilla, or however you prefer.
Notes
Nutrition
Make these tasty mountain pies or pudgy pies as they’re known by pie iron fans for breakfast on your next camping trip. Camping meals are supposed to be easy to prepare and cook well over an open fire or on a charcoal grill and this pie iron breakfast bake definitely fits the bill! Serve as is, or between white bread slices or rolled up in a tortilla, and you have a wonderful and satisfying camping breakfast which you’ll love eating! This is one of the most delicious recipes for camp cookers and you can add anything you like to the mix.
Other Recipes to Try
- Try these copycat Starbucks egg bites – they also make a delicious breakfast.
- These gorgeous bacon recipes prove bacon isn’t just for breakfast!
- Italian frittata is another wonderful option if you want something flavorful with eggs.
- Homemade fruit muffins are always great for breakfast.
- And of course whipped dalgona coffee always pairs well with the first meal of the day!
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
